Dan is Governing’s transportation and infrastructure reporter. Dan developed a deep knowledge of government generally, and of states specifically, as a reporter for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and for Stateline. He has a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield and a bachelor’s degree in English and German from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Federal regulations neither require schools to test their water nor have a single health standard for drinking water. The resulting patchwork of state policies can have a big impact on how -- and whether -- they respond to lead found in water.

The state and county have failed to fix the unsanitary conditions for years, and at times threatened to arrest citizens over them. An outbreak of a once-eradicated disease has prompted the United Nations to get involved.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza must determine who the cash-strapped state pays and who has to wait. A long-running feud with Gov. Bruce Rauner -- she calls him "a madman running this state into the ground" -- makes things decidedly more difficult.

More lower-income households have access to cars now than they did before the Great Recession. That’s good news for their access to jobs, but it may cause cities to rethink their assumptions about transportation.

Neither Gov. Bruce Rauner nor his Democratic opponent, J.B. Pritzker, are keen on talking about a topic both wealthy men purportedly know a lot about: money. At least not as it relates to the state's perennial budget problems.

Housing prices in California continue to soar, in part because many cities have discouraged dense development. That’s led to a big fight in Sacramento over whether the state should force cities to allow apartment and condo buildings near transit stations.

Mayors gathered in Washington last week worried that the White House’s plan would drain their resources. But they were hopeful that the new money could come directly to cities, instead of through the states.

At a time when many state transportation officials are clamoring for more financial help from Washington, an outline of the president’s infrastructure plan depends heavily on an influx of state and private funds.

The Trump administration's sudden reversal on Tuesday sparked a backlash among the other state leaders who have voiced opposition to the plan to drastically expand oil and gas drilling off their coasts.

At issue is how to decide when legislative voting maps are illegally partisan. At Tuesday's hearing, Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concerns about how the case could impact the "status" and "integrity" of the Supreme Court itself.

While Texas and Florida recover from hurricanes, other communities are looking at what they can do to prepare for flooding and other disasters. We talked to an expert in disaster planning to get her advice.

Native Americans who live on the reservation in Utah are used to having to fight for basic government services. But they’d at least like roads that can reliably transfer patients to the ER and kids to school.

There are more than 7 million lead service lines nationwide, and replacing them isn't easy or cheap. But Flint on Tuesday pledged to join the few cities that have gotten rid of the dangerous infrastructure.

Businessman Bruce Rauner, the first Illinois governor with no prior political experience, promised to "shake up Springfield." Now he and lawmakers are locked in the state's longest budget showdown -- with no end in sight.

Lacking substantial state or federal support, local governments throughout the country are using natural disasters as a way to get their infrastructure, personnel and budgets better prepared for the next.

In a state with an economy and government reliant on diminishing oil revenue, voters will decide whether to repeal a law that's designed to spur oil development but help the at-times corrupt oil industry.

All but nine states have decreased the number of "structurally deficient" bridges since the fatal Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007. But experts warn that if Congress doesn't find the money to continue or increase current funding levels, the number of troubled bridges could start climbing again.